Years ago, at the event Southern Fried Comic Con in Jackson, MS, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel with author Kimberly Richardson. Upon this panel, she and I discovered we had quite a bit in common. After purchasing her book Tales from a Goth Librarian, and she purchasing my book Traumatized, it would be nearly a year before we would see each other again. The next time we bumped into one another was at Midsouth Con in Memphis, TN. The first thing we did was hug one another and then fan girl/boy out over how shocking each other’s work was. It wasn’t long after that I began contributing to her Dreams of Steam Series. Before we learn what Kimberly Richardson AKA The Goth Librarian thinks of Halloween, here is some of her back story.

After found as an infant crawling among books in an abandoned library, Kimberly Richardson grew up to become an eccentric woman with a taste for jazz, drinking tea, reading books, speaking rusty French and Japanese, playing her violin and writing stories that cause people to make the strangest faces. Her first book, Tales from a Goth Librarian, was published through Dark Oak Press and named a Finalist in both the USA Book News Awards for Fiction: Short Story for 2009 and the International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story in 2010. Ms. Richardson is also the author of The Decembrists (Dark Oak Press) and Mabon/Pomegranate (Dark Oak Press), the upcoming books Tales From a Goth Librarian II, The House of Ginkgo and Open A, as well as the editor of Realms of Imagination: An Urban Fantasy Anthology and the award winning Steampunk anthology Dreams of Steam and the award winning sequels Dreams of Steam II: Of Brass and Bolts,Dreams of Steam III: Gadgets and Dreams of Steam IV: Gizmos, and the upcoming Dreams of Steam V, all published through Dark Oak Press. Ms. Richardson is also a contributor to the anthologies BLACK PULP and the upcoming ASIAN PULP, both published through ProSe Press, Garbanzo Literary Journal Volume III, published through Seraphemera Books, and Luna’s Children: Stranger Worlds, a werewolf anthology published through Dark Oak Press. Other short stories and poetry by Ms. Richardson have been published through Sam’s Dot Publishing/Alban Lake Publishing, Midnight Screaming, and FootHills Publishing. Ms. Richardson is also the Programming Director for Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention, a sci-fi convention held in Memphis, Tennessee.

What does Halloween mean to you?

It means a time to say goodbye to the lighter side of Life and to prepare ourselves for the Dark. It is by no means a sad time rather a time of reflection and of magick.

What is your most memorable Halloween?

I don’t really have one; every Halloween has been wonderful!

How do you celebrate Halloween today?

I usually just watch a scary movie or pay homage to the dead. This year, however, I am going to see the Shakespearean play Richard III. I love that play and this version should be spooky enough!

What was your best Halloween costume?

I dressed up once as a farmer when I was a child, complete with hay stick to chew on!

What was your worst Halloween costume?

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad costume.

Some people believe Halloween is a negative Holiday to celebrate. Why do you feel Halloween has such a controversy to it? Because although there are “spooky” elements associated with the holiday, people think it to mean the Devil and Satanism. That is simply not the case.

What do you do to keep the ghosts and ghouls away on Halloween night?

Keep them away? Um, why?

What frightens you and why?

You know what scares me, Alex. That is my answer!

What’s your favorite scary movie and why?

The scariest movie I ever saw was The Orphanage. Scared me so badly I actually hid behind my coat and cried. Yes, I really did cry. Anything dealing with dead children bothers me greatly.

What’s your favorite horror book and why?

Bag of Bones by Stephen King. Something about the story touched my soul and wouldn’t let go. It bothered me to read it but I read the entire thing and, although I’m glad that I did, I will never read it again.

In March of 2014 at MidSouth Convention in Memphis, TN, I had the pleasure of reuniting with old friends and meeting new friends. Author, Armand Rosamilia is a name amongst the new friends which I acquired during this gathering. We had met by speaking together on multiple panels regarding the horror genre and bizarro fiction. After our discussions, we struck up a conversation and saw we shared many common interests.

I now present to you, a wonderful horror author who knows exactly what it takes to get under a reader’s skin.

Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He has written over 100 stories that are currently available, including a few different series: “Dying Days” extreme zombie series “Keyport Cthulhu” horror series “Flagler Beach Fiction Series” contemporary fiction “Metal Queens” non-fiction music series he also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool. He’s a proud, active member of HWA as well.

You can find him at http://armandrosamilia.com for not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes!

E-mail him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal: armandrosamilia@gmail.com

What does Halloween mean to you?

I wish it had the same meaning to me now as it did as a kid. Despite being a horror author, I can’t say Halloween is my favorite holiday. That would still be Thanksgiving. I think it’s because it is always so close to my birthday (November 21st – I accept any and all gifts). As a kid, Halloween was awesome. Once I had kids of my own it became more work. As an adult (and as an old man of 44) I am not a huge fan, although I don’t hate it. There… I said it. Let the hate mail begin.

What is your most memorable Halloween?

The first year I was able to go off by myself and take my younger brother. We took two pillowcases each and managed to fill them both with candy (and garbage like pennies). My parents were pissed because we were two hours late, but it didn’t matter to us. We’d managed to hit every street of the little town we grew up in.

How do you celebrate Halloween today?

By praying no kids come to the door so I’ll have an excuse to eat all of the chocolate candy bars the next day. They can’t go to waste, right?

What was your best Halloween costume?

When I was really little mom dressed me up like Ronald McDonald. I was damn cute. The year she dressed me as a girl? Not as cute.

What was your worst Halloween costume?

Yeah… the girl costume. Still have nightmares about it.

Some people believe Halloween is a negative Holiday to celebrate. Why do you feel Halloween has such a controversy to it?

Because people are going to be uptight about everything. Human nature. People are stupid and ill-informed and want to complain about everything.

What do you do to keep the ghosts and ghouls away on Halloween night?

I find a piece of cardboard, put on Run DMC and I breakdance… um, I mean… I respect the thin barrier between worlds and quietly eat all the chocolate.

What frightens you and why?

Dogs for some reason. I’ve never been bitten. Unconditional love, but that’s for another day.

What’s your favorite scary movie and why?

As a kid the Friday The 13th, the first couple of movies freaked me out. I loved them.

What’s your favorite horror book and why?

Besides Chelsea Avenue by the sexy Armand Rosamilia (Ragnarok Publications)? As a teen Phantoms by Dean Koontz was creepy. I never saw the movie and I never will.

Do you prefer slow burners or fast paced thrillers?

Fast paced thrillers. I want there to be a reason I can’t put the book down.

What inspires your more frightening work?

The human condition. Real-life murders and the horrible things we tend to do to one another is more frightening than a ghost or evil spirit.

Do you plan to contribute to the horror genre in the future?

I plan on continuing my horror shorts, novellas and novels into the future, as well as more movie work. Comic books would be really cool at some point, too.